Raviv Turns Two in Subic! (Part 2: In Between Zoobic Safari and Ocean Adventure)

Before I regale you with tales about our second major destination in Subic, let me first tell you about where we stayed.

Casablanca Hotel in Subic

Since we were so doggone tired after our Zoobic Safari adventure—especially because we left Los Banos early—we can’t afford to spend so much time looking for a place to spend the rest of the afternoon and the night at. So we ended up booking two condo-style rooms at Casablanca. It was just by the road and was a steal. There was a nearby, cheaper hotel that was by the beach yet I took it out of the running because it was too dark and I had the feeling that it was motel-ish.

Casablanca Hotel and Resort Subic facade

We initially wanted to book the two-story condo-type room so every one of us could be in just one room. It was really nice and the “master bedroom” at the second floor had a nice veranda overlooking the Subic Bay. However, the stairs were too steep and the railings on the second story were very wide apart—even Robust Raviv could slide in between them and fall. And my regular readers know how whirlwind-ish Raviv could get! Mom and I were certain he is going to try to climb up the stairs. Mom firmly told me not to consider it—our holiday might end up as a tragedy.

We had to pass this one because it wasn’t kid-friendly…look at the gaps between those railings!

And so we settled on having two discrete rooms. The rooms we got were similar to the two-story condo, except that the 2nd level was no longer in the picture, but still had the same amenities. But no more veranda overlooking the sea 🙁 Veranda overlooking the pool na lang.

Since we had refrigerator, stove and pans, we went into kuripot mode (remember, andami namin!) and just bought food from a barbeque-han from the outskirts of Subic after we shopped from a duty free shop. It was our dinner and the leftovers served as our breakfast (plus the complimentary breakfast for five people). By the way, this cozy restau’s lechon and barbeque were so delicious that Dad wanted to give his complimentary hotel breakfast ticket to someone else so he could eat our takeout for breakfast instead. Unfortunately, no one wanted it. Haha.

We had breakfast by the pool, and watched the kids happily wade, er, swim. Randy initially wanted them to be done in less than an hour, but because the kids (and the yayas!) were squealing with delight the whole time, it was extended. Randy said that the price difference (compared with the cheaper, musky hotel) was really worth it, seeing the children that happy.

Mom and Mama decided to skip Ocean Adventure…nacacahiya naman sa kanilang nakupunta na sa Sea World sa San Diego (Mama) and to similar marine life shows in Europe, Asia and the US (Mom) ‘di ba kung pupunta pa sila sa Ocean Adventure! Our two matriarchs just asked to be dropped off to Puregold Duty Free and start their shopping early. Mom was actually eager for this Subic trip because she has long coveted the juice container I have at home which I bought from Puregold Duty Free Subic, and she could not find one anywhere else.

The drink dispenser that Mom wanted to arbor from me (image lifted from thewallyworldwoman.com)

Bat Kingdom

Anyway, after we dropped off the two lola’s, we headed to Ocean Adventure, but not with a not-so-quick stopover at the Bat Kingdom. Now the Bat Kingdom isn’t exactly a kingdom with a shrine, but just a place where soooooo many bats huddle. We’ve already seen this when we went to Anvaya in June, and the view amazed us. That’s why we wanted Dad, our helpers, my brother TJ, and the other kids to see it for themselves. True enough, they too were amazed. There were some bats flying around, while a myriad was hanging upside down from the tree branches. Of course, I fabricated tales that these bats were vampires to scare Thea. Hehehe.

See the bats? They’re the ones hanging from the tree!

Now here’s a closer look at the bats

Randy and Raviv stood amazed looking at the bats

And then off we went to Ocean Adventure. Wait for that post—that’s next! 🙂